The present invention concerns the front end frame construction of a forward control vehicle and, more particularly, a front end designed to reduce injuries to passengers in such vehicles.
In forward control vehicles, in which the passenger compartment is above the engine compartment in the immediate front end of the vehicle, it may be difficult to maintain sufficient space to permit the survival of the driver and the front seat passenger during a head-on collision. This problem arises because, in contrast to a passenger car with a front end designed to accommodate the driving unit or a luggage compartment, not many structures offering protection are available in the front of a forward control vehicle.
The provision of a bending-resistant bottom cross member in a front control vehicle is known. Such a cross member is arranged behind the bumper and is designed as a deformation element to which the front panel plate of the vehicle is fixed. The deformation element described becomes fully effective if during a collision of the vehicle the forces are introduced directly into the deformation element, i.e. when the bumper in front of the deformation element comes in contact with the obstacle. However, in many collisions this is not the case, at least during the first phase of the impact. For example, when there is an impact on the rear of a truck, contact with the truck occurs in a higher region so that the bottom cross member is ineffective and the front panel plate is substantially deformed into the passenger compartment, possibly after coming loose from the bottom cross member.
German published patent application No. 22 25 089, B62d 25/08, discloses an automobile body with a front bumper that is supplemented so as to form a frame extending perpendicular to its plane, which frame bears against the front ends of longitudinal members of the body. In the front end of a forward control vehicle, as has been shown, conditions prevail which are different from those of a passenger car and therefore the frame construction of this German application are not applicable. Further, the cross member forming the upper part of the frame is relatively easily bent or folded backward during a collision with an obstacle.
A forward control vehicle in accordance with German Letters of Disclosure 27 05 849, B62d 25/08 has a fold-back cover for a spare tire space provided in the center zone of the front panel. The bumper and the apron form one piece composed of integral foam, and are fixed as a flap by means of a hinge pin on a cross member of the vehicle. Behind the part composed of integral foam there is a carrying frame that likewise forms a component of the flap, which carrying frame bears against the bumper by way of horizontally extending struts.